This year may not be as exciting as 2013, which may not be topped again, thanks to huge events like the Breaking Bad finale, the Red Wedding episode of Game of Thrones, and the disappointing Dexter finale. However, we can look forward to the end of one show we’ve been looking forward to for year, we can be excited about the second cycle of Netflix originals House of Cards (February 14th) and Orange is the New Black, two highly anticipated series will debut, and there will be huge changes in late-night television. Here are, tentatively, the 10 Most Important Television Events of 2014.

January 12th — Arguably the most exciting, anticipated show of the year (or at the very least, the winter), True Detective debuts on HBO. The series stars two hugely popular feature film stars, Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, coming off of huge years in Hollywood. Harrelson starred in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Now You See Me, while McConaughey continued a career resurgence that began in 2012 with potentially Oscar-nominated roles in any of the three: Wolf of Wall Street, Dallas Buyer’s Club and Mud. The series, which also stars Michelle Monaghan, utilizes multiple timelines to trace two detectives’ hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana across seventeen years. I’ve seen the first three episodes of True Detective and I can confirm that they are brilliantly acted, gripping, and that the show is immediately addictive.

February 6th — The Winter Olympics kick off on February 7th from Sochi, Russia, but the night before, a cultural event with even longer implications will take place: Jimmy Fallon — after only five years at host of Late Night — will replace Jay Leno, who will be stepping down as host of The Tonight Show after 22 years (minus the year Conan O’Brien filled the seat). Where Leno goes is still up in the air (if he does anywhere).

February 24th — Meanwhile, Jimmy Fallon will be replaced by Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers over on Late Night on the 24th, vacating his seat on “Weekend Update,” which will be filled full-time now (presumably) by Cecily Strong.

March 31st — The ninth and final season of How I Met Your Mother will finally conclude on CBS. The mystery surrounding the identity of the mother, however, has been taken away. Now, the only uncertainty is in how Ted Mosby and she ultimately meet, but we’re less interested in that and more interested in simply seeing the series finally end (although, we will then have to contend with the spin-off).

April 6th — Though no official date has been set, it’s safe to assume that HBO will bring back Game of Thrones on either April 6th or March 31st. The fourth season will continue to pick up the pieces in the wake of the third season’s Red Wedding as it heads toward the fourth season’s Purple Wedding.

May — I’m not sure whether to fear this or be excited about it, but Fox is making the rare move of bring back a series that’s been off the air for three-and-a-half years. Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer will return with a 12-episode series titled 24: Live Another Day. The best news about this is that Mary Lynn Rajskub is returning.

Summer — No official date has been set for the return of Mad Men, but the final season — which like AMC’s Breaking Bad will be split into two parts — makes the final 14 episodes (the first seven of which air this year) not as highly anticipated as it once was. Many of us are nevertheless eager to see how the series pulls Don Draper out of his suspension, whether Sterling Cooper & Partners will officially open offices in Los Angeles, and whether there will be a dramatic time jump in the timeline.

Fall — It kind of smarts that — after the 50th Anniversary in Christmas, and the Christmas Episode which saw the demise of the 11th Doctor and the rise of the 12th — we now have to wait until the autumn to see Peter Capaldi’s first episode as the new Doctor, but the scheduling of Doctor Who continues to confound. (In the meantime, we can watch Peter Capaldi on the BBC’s Three Musketeers and, of course, Stephen Moffat’s Sherlock returns on January 19th.

December — Though not officially its last season, Kurt Sutter has stated on many, many occasions that Sons of Anarchy is expected to end in 2014, and if the calendar lines up the same way it did in 2013, we can expect to see most of the rest of SAMCRO killed off the show by the series finale in mid-December 2014.

TBA — No official date has been set for the premiere of Breaking Bad’s Bob Odenkirk spin-off, Better Call Saul, but we do know that it will be more funny than dark (but it will also be dark), may feature lots of courtroom scenes, and according to Vince Gilligan, it is expected to debut before the end of the year.

Louie is fucking terrible. There, I said it. I know it’s supposed to make you cool and hip that you like it, but I’m sick to shit of people pretending it’s even close to one of the best shows on TV. Yes, he has some awesome incites. Yes, his standup is funny. HIS SHOW IS NOT FUCKING FUNNY.

I don’t disagree with you at all. I like his standup, hell I enjoyed Lucky Louie on HBO, but the FX show just doesn’t work for me at all and I think it’s more of a well written awkward drama than a comedy.

i like it. I will say that I dont think he means it to be funny at times, the 3 part series about letterman was great. i honestly think its just his perception of things and he does a really good job with it. theres some deep shit on that show sometimes yo. and you cant tell me the masterbation episode wasnt the funniest shit ever. that episode had me crying laughing

Everyone needs to a) calm the fuck down and b) understand the meaning of “like”. If a bunch of people think something is funny and you don’t, it’s not a “bad” show; it’s a show you don’t like, and that’s ok.

I cant believe you made it through the whole season. It pissed me off right off the hop when AMC chose to air the breaking bad preview during the first commercial break, but I gave the first episode a chance. Like you said though, it was too depressing. I couldnt tune in the following week.

You lucked out. It actually gets more depressing as the show goes on. The writing and story lines get so muddled and there isn’t a likable character on the show. There is simply nobody to root for and no overarching/compelling storyline to get excited about. I only stuck with it because Mark Strong is such a powerhouse actor, but even he couldn’t rescue this shit show.

I just can’t wait for Les Revenants season 2. I watched that randomly this past week and was floored. Had goosebumps at least 10 or more times the first episode. LOST meets The Walking Dead. I cannot recommend a show more. Solid list.

I started watching it again…right after I finished and they really took the effort to set up the back stories instead of making crap up as they went along. The movie it’s based on is creepy, too. But, I’m only half way through it. Different, but I hate myself for not thinking about concept before. Having someone die, and 4 years later they’re just standing in your kitchen eating a sandwich apologizing for being late would make be run through my door without opening it.

@CakeEater I am not a huge fan of Louie but I understand why people like it. The humor in it is based on Louie being in awkward situations and bad stuff happening to him, kind of like A Serious Man. I understand and respect the humor but do not find it funny. I love Louie C.K.’s standup though…and Pootie Tang.

I tried to Netflix binge on this. I thought I had seen a couple good reviews and wanted to give it a chance. HOLY FUCK. After about the 3rd time the bad guys magically escaped from the cops because a random Joe Carroll follower was perfectly placed to aid them I almost gave up. I gave it one more chance. In about the 6th episode when the FBI raided the basement/dungeon that some dork was holding Joe Carroll’s ex-wife/baby mama in and escaped by throwing a weak-ass fake flash bang and darting out the door, I fucking gave up for good.
Seriously, the FBI is going to breach a room of a kidnapping/murder suspect who is almost certainly armed and dangerous from just one doorway and not even have other exits sealed off. The guy tosses one flash bang and is literally 4 seconds into his escape and they don’t even pursue. WTF!

I’m pretty stoked for the Klondike show, but I have a nerdy interest in the subject. And damn am I unhappy about splitting the season for Mad Men. Just run the damn thing, I’m barely recovered from the 18 month hiatus that occurred after the writer’s strike.

I’ll add 5
5. Psych – What I think are the final episode
4. Walking Dead season 4 part 2
3. Community – Harmons return and Trots last episodes
2. Arrow – Hey look The Flash
1. Archer – Because it’s all on the line or w/e

Commercials fill in for dead time. Also, I’d like to know if anyone has ever seen Jack kill anyone. He goes 24 straight hours without so much as a power bar. I can’t even remember seeing him drink anything to be honest, and I’ve seen every episode.

Maybe I’m not grasping the full impact of the Red Wedding (I have not seen the series besides a half-invested watching of the first season one weekend), but besides the girl getting stabbed in the stomach, it really wasn’t as bad as I was thinking when I saw a clip of it.